Where You Should Stream and Why

So you decided to get into creating content for the masses?! Woot! Congratulations! Welcome to the elite group of streamers and content creators. Wanting to do this is half the battle. The other half is where you will be creating your content. Within the last 10 years or so, we have seen a huge influx of streaming and video content sites that individuals can create content for. Some are just starting out, while others are adding to their insane empire. Where do you fit in? What is the best site to create content for? Don’t worry! We listed some of the best places to stream and create content for and why you would want to choose that over the others!

Mixer

In what seems like no time at all, the Microsoft owned stream platform, Mixer (formerly Beam), has paved the way and shown that you don’t have to stream on Twitch to be successful. Mixer is growing exponentially each year and is focused heavily on community engagement. The layout of Mixer is very appealing for new streamers as the dashboard is very easy to navigate and the almost instant stream-to-viewer video feed helps with interaction and engagement of your viewers.

Plus, let’s not forget the HypeZone! The HypeZone is Mixer’s way of introducing you to awesome content creators you may not know. When streamers are close to winning a match or a chicken dinner, they can be featured in the HypeZone to hundreds of new people for that time period. If they win, the chicken emotes fly in the chat and the next individual is up. If they lose, GGs go around and they still get love. Viewers have the option to follow the streamer during their time in the HypeZone to help with their growth. Keep in mind though, the HypeZone is focused on battle royale titles (Fortnite, PUBG, Realm Royale, etc.), so the titles you play may not be available to the HypeZone.

Pros

• Backed by Microsoft, so it’s here to stay
• New community, so you are getting in on the ground floor
• Opportunity to carve out your niche on a new platform before anyone else
• HypeZone can introduce your new channel to hundreds of new fans instantly

Cons

• Small community, so growth can take a lot longer in the short term
• Some titles have very little community (0-5 viewers at all times) so you may need to supplement your main content with other more popular titles to ensure that you can grow.
• HypeZone is for battle royale titles only for right now

YouTube Gaming

Are you looking to stream AND create video content? Then YouTube Gaming may be the place for you. We all know YouTube…the mecha of video aggregation, yada yada. But did you know that YouTube created a gaming livestream division? Most do, but some don’t. YouTube has seen what Twitch has done to the streaming world, and wants to make it easier for it’s creators to do that on their platform. The best part of this is that all of your content lives on one site. No more linking back and forth.

You can promote videos while you stream and promote streams in your videos. Subscribers get notified when you are live and your entire YouTube page changes when you go live. There isn’t a previous video when you visit the channel, it actually changes to the livestream so new subscribers or viewers can immediately see you live and then all of your content below. When you are done, YouTube can add that stream to a playlist to be added to your channel and the channel page returns to what you set as the top video. It is a really intuitive system and provides a lot of benefits for streaming on the platform, while also creating video content.

Pros

• All content is on one site
• Promotion is easy between videos and streams
• Subscribers are more engaged with video and livestream content
• People who find you while streaming and subscribe goes toward your subscriber total, so you’ll be helping your video content grow as well, by streaming.

Cons

• You are not exposing your content to other communities
• Slow growth against hundreds of individuals who have been on the site longer
• You are still competing against the top YouTubers for views
• YouTube Gaming lives on an different site and the main YouTube page doesn’t advertise the Gaming portion well enough to drive traffic effectively

Twitch

We can’t forget about the monster of the streaming world, Twitch. Twitch is the top dog when it comes to streaming and the place where the majority of livestreamers started (If you don’t count Justin.tv!). The interface is clean, they have the most features, and the largest community of livestream viewers, by a majority. Most major games and even some obscure titles have very loyal communities, so you can make a name for yourself on almost every title. They also announced the Affiliate program, which lets individuals come in very quickly and after some very easily obtainable requirements, start making money through subs and bits on the platform.

Pros

• The best all-in-one streaming platform right now
• Best opportunity to create revenue from the beginning
• Most exposure to gaming communities and chances to grow your community
• Most features to assist streamers through extensions and bits
• Twitch Prime (which comes free for Prime Members), provides a free sub that helps with growth

Cons

• VERY saturated. Most major titles are saturated to the point that no one will find you if you aren’t within the top 20 people playing.
• Growth can be explosive or very minimal
• Twitch focuses on it’s partners the most, so non-affiliates and Affiliates are rarely assisted
• Smaller growth overall due to saturation

Have you found success on other sites or are you stuck to the big three? We would love to learn more, so comment down below!